Carpenter&#39;s horse or trestle



Nov. 6, 1951 G. W. SPIKINGS, JR

' CARPENTER'S HORSE OR TRESTLE 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Filed Feb. 18, 1947 George W. Spikings,Jn

and

Nov. 6, 1951 G. w. SPIKINGS, JR 2,573,740

- CARPENTERS HORSE OR TRESTLE Filed-Feb. 18, 1947 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Inventor Fig. 5. Ge orge W Spikings, Jr.

ay @Mm (em W 19% Patented Nov. 6, 1951 t lNlTE-D stares e ar ore-etc e;

CAHPENTERS HORSERTRE STLE" George WaSpikings, JrgRiv'er Grove,'Ill. ApplicationlFebrua-ry 18, 1947;"Sli2tlN0. 729,246-

(Cl;'3ll4-'-.-5)

2 Claims. 1

Thepresentinvention relates to'new'and useful. improvements in horses or trestles of the'type commonly used by; carpenters or other'persons employed in-building' construction and .the invention has for its primary object to provide meansforcollapsing the .legs'of thetrestle into a compact form when'the trestleis not in use.

A. further [object ofthe inventionis to pro vide a;'she1f or tray removahly supported on the legs of the trestle, the shelf or tray being adapted to hold tools orother articles when the trestle is in its open upright position and the shelf or tray being foldable into compact form when removed from the trestle.

Anotherobject is to provide a device ofthis character' of simple and practical construction, which is strong and durable, which is reliable in use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for thepurposes for .which the same is. intended.

Other objects and advantages reside :in thedetails of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being'had'to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a perspective View showing the trestle'in its open position ready for use;

Figure 2 is a bottom perspectiveview of the trestle in folded position;

Figure 3 is aperspectiveview of the shelf or tray in folded position;

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the trestle in its open position;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line '55 of Figure 4; and

Figure. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of. oneofthe brackets for pivotally attachingthe legs to-the underside of the trestle.

Referring now to the drawings in detailwher'eiii for thepurpose of illustration- I (have disclosed a.-preferred'. embodiment of the invention the numeral fidesignates th'e'board or beam orthe trestle supported at each end upon a pair of legs 6. The beam and legs may be constructed of wood or any other suitable material and the manner of connecting the legs at each end bf the beam for collapsing the legs is identical and accordingly a detailed description of the construction of one pair of legs will suffice for both.

Secured to the underside of the beam 5 adjacent each end, is an inverted U-shaped plate member I secured in position by screws or the like 8. The plate includes downwardly extending wing portions 9 provided with a rivet or the like lll'for pivotally'attaching the respective legs to *said' wings in a manner more fullyhereinafter explained. The legs are positioned outwardly of the wings as shown to advantage in Figure '1 of I 'cate sections, eachofthe sectionscomprising a platememher I5 atone corner of which is the opening ifi forpivotallyu mounting on the pin 13 and adjacent the end edge providedwith the opening it is aslo'ttedopening I! adapted for longitudinal. engagement with a headedpin" l8 projecting: outwardly from the legs 6.;

The sections of the latch 14 extend inwardly toward each other from the opposed legs and the adjacent ends. of "the latch sections are disposed in overlapping relation and are pivotally con; nected. to each other by means of .a pin 19 work= ingina slotted opening 23 formed in the overlapping end of the section it of the latch.

.Secu-redto the inner side portion at the upper end ofdeach. leg is a .U-shapedIplate .21 having flanges ..22-. at. each .end thereof disposed in. abut-. irig relation against the opposite -edg'es of the legs .andsecured .theretoby screws or the like 23. An: upstanding tonguel is struck from the central..por tionaoftheiplate 21,. the tonguetbeing 1'. adapted. to receive one of the wings--8- in..iric-.

tional. engagement. therewith when thelegs. .are disposedintheir uprightoropen position.- One of the flanges 22 of the plates2i isofreduced length. andwthe adjacent upper corner: of the plateis: inclined-as .shownat -.-26-'to-permit.-the pivotal-1 folding movement of .thelegs inwardly against the inside of thebeamfi:

The: inner: ends ofthe wings .arecurved ;as shown at 21 in an are having the rivet ID as an axis to maintain the wings in constant engagement with the tongue 26 during the swinging of the legs into and out of their open or upright position, the plate 2| having an opening 35 for pivotally mounting the plate and its attached leg on the rivet I 0.

The upper edge of the outermost section I5 of the latch 14 is formed with an inwardly projecting finger-gripping flange 28 by means of which the connected ends of the sections of the latch may be lifted upwardly as shown in Figure '6 to break the latch from looking engagement with the pin l8.

The lower portion of each pair of legs at each end of the beam are connected to each other by a brace 29 of angle iron, the brace being pivoted at one end as at 32 to one leg and is provided at its other end with a keyhole slot 33 adapted to receive a headed pin 34 on the outer of said pair of legs. The horizontal flange 35 of the brace is shortened at each end and are positioned between the legs to abut the inner surfaces thereof and to brace the legs against inward movement relative to each other.

The horizontal flanges 35 of the braces at each end of the trestle are also adapted to Support a folding shelf or tray 36 having its end portions positioned between the legs at the ends of the trestle.

The shelf includes a pair of bottom sections 31 hingedly connected to each other along one longitudinal edge by conventional end members 38 for folding the sections 31 against each other as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings.

The sections 3'! are secured in a flat open position by latch members 38 pivoted as at 39 at one end to one of the sections 31 of the shelf, the free end of the latch members having a notch 40 in one longitudinal edge and adapted for engaging a headed pin 4| carried by the other section of the shelf.

To the outer longitudinal edge of each of the sections 31 is secured a relatively low side wall 42 positioned between the legs at one side of the trestle'when the shelf is in its open position, the side walls projecting upwardly above the bottom of the shelf to function as the sides of a tray for holding articles on the shelf.

By removing the shelf 36 from the brace 29 the shelf may be folded into the position as shown in Figure 3 for convenient handling or shipping thereof and by releasing the braces 29 from the legs at each end of the trestle and collapsing the latches M the legs may be swung inwardly against the underside of the beam 5 into a folded position as shown in Figure 2.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new is:

1. A trestle comprising an undivided beam of table top character, plate members of inverted U-shape in cross section having the bight portions thereof rigidly secured to the underside of said beam adjacent the ends thereof and having wing portions disposed longitudinally of said beam, legs having the upper ends thereof pivoted on said wing portions, outwardly turned flanges on the edges of the wings adjacent the ends of said beam, said flanges comprising stops against which the legs abut when in operative position, a shelf comprising complemental sections extending longitudinally of the trestle and hinged together at their adjacent longitudinal edges, strap latch member pivoted on both upper and lower surfaces of one of said sections and engageable with headed members on the other section to hold the sections against hinging action, a pair of upstanding side walls on the outer longitudinal edges of the sections positioned between the legs, and angle braces secured to and between the legs at each end of the trestle and having horizontal flanges supporting said shelf and holding apart said legs at each end, said braces extending across the ends of and above the shelf, said shelf with said walls and braces comprising a tray, the wing portions being angulated and the side walls being so dimensioned that the latter engage the corresponding legs, said legs having headed pins thereon immediately beneath the flanges on said winged portions when the legs are extended, and said flanges of the winged portions having latch plates pivoted thereon and engaging the heads of said pins when the legs are extended to hold the legs in extended position.

2. A trestle comprising a table top, a pair of downwardly diverging legs at each end of the table top and pivotally secured thereto, and a shelf comprising complemental sections extending longitudinally of the trestle and hinged together at their adjacent longitudinal edges, strap latch members pivoted on both upper and lower surfaces of one of said sections and engageable with headed members on the other section to hold the sections against hinging action, a pair of upstanding side walls on the outer longitudinal edges of the sections and positioned between the legs, and angle braces secured to and between the legs at each end of the trestle and having horizontal flanges supporting said shelf and holding apart said legsat each end, said braces having vertical flanges extending across the ends of and above the shelf, said shelf with said walls and braces comprising a tray.

GEORGE W. SPIKINGS, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,191,687 Gillett July 18, 1916 1,411,260 Baker et al. Apr. 4, 1922 2,194,027 McDonald Mar. 19, 1940 2,290,898 Spikings July 28, 1942 2,324,196 Crozier July 13, 1943 2,412,716 Campbell Dec. 17, 1946 

